The Healthy, Wealthy, + Wise Adventure – Day 3 (1/3/09)

Healthy:  Rounded up a gaggle of friends to join me in running the May 20^th 5K race (well, technically, some, perhaps all, will be whipping my butt, but at least we can stand together at the start, and perhaps they will save some of the yummy post-race food for me to consume after I stagger across the finish line).  Now, with the race date inscribed in Sharpie on our calendar, and a group of friends recruited to race, I am fully committed to running.

 

Though the “Couch-to-5K” referenced yesterday is a great plan, given our very full lives, I find myself needing a little more guidance on how to fit exercise into my day, and how to remain focused and successful.  Looking for inspiration, I frequently turn to www.zenhabits.net, where I found the following gems.  Plan to work through these tips, and be a better runner for it.

 

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The Main Problems
So why do most people have trouble making exercise a regular habit? Well, there are probably a number of factors, but here are the main ones as I see it:

1. Too difficult. People set out with a lot of ambition and enthusiasm, and start out with a big goal. “I’m going to go to the gym for an hour a day!” or “I’m going to run 30 minutes every day!” The problem is that the goal is too difficult to sustain for very long. You can do it for a few days, but you soon run out of energy, and it becomes a drag to do it.
2. Too many goals. Often we set out to do too much. We want to run, and lift weights, and eat healthy, and quit sweets, and stop drinking soda. Well, those are multiple goals, and you cannot focus on the exercise habit if you’re trying to do all the others at the same time. Or we might start with one goal, but then get caught up in another goal (to stop procrastinating, for example), and lose our focus on the first one.
3. Not enough motivation. It’s not a lack of discipline, it’s a lack of motivation. The most powerful motivators, in my experience, are logging your habit and public pressure. There are many others that help as well.

The 4 Simple Steps
So how do we solve those problems? Keep it simple. Here are the 4 simple steps to start the exercise habit (and keep it going). I should note that you can use these 4 steps to start any habit.

1. Set one easy, specific, measurable goal. There are several keys to setting this crucial goal:
   • Written: Write this down. Post it up. If you don’t write it down, it’s not important.
   • Easy: Don’t — DO NOT — set a difficult goal. Set one that is super, super easy. Five minutes of exercise a day. You can do that. Work your way to 10 minutes after a month. Then go to 15 after 2 months. You can see what I mean: make it easy to start with, so you can build your habit, then gradually increase.
   • Specific: By specific, I mean what activity are you going to do, at what time of day, and where? Don’t just say “exercise” or “I’m going to walk”. You have to set a time and place. Make it an appointment you can’t miss.
   • Trigger: I recommend that you have a “trigger” right before you do your habit. For example, you might always brush your teeth right after you shower. The shower is the trigger for brushing your teeth, and because of that, you never forget to brush your teeth. Well, what will you do right before you exercise? Is it right after you wake up? Right after your coffee? Right when you get home? As soon as you take off for lunch? A trigger that you do every single day is important.
   • Measurable: By measurable, I mean that you should be able to say, definitely, whether you hit or miss your goal today. Examples: run for 10 minutes. Walk 1/2 a mile. Do 3 sets of 5 pushups. Each of those has a number that you can shoot for.
   • One goal: Stick to this one goal for at least a month. Two months if you can bear it. Don’t start up a second goal during that 30-day period. If you do, you are scrapping this goal.
2. Log it daily. This is the key habit. If you can log your workout, you will start to see your progress, and it will motivate you to keep going. And you have to make it a habit to log it right away. Don’t put it off, and say you’ll do it before you go to bed. As soon as you’re done working out, log it. No exceptions. And don’t make the log complicated — that will only make you resist doing the log. Just the date, time, and what you did.
3. Report to others. I think this is key. You can do it on your blog, on an online forum, with your spouse, or friends or family, or a workout partner, or a coach, or a group, or a class. However you set it up, make it part of the process that you have to report your daily workout to other people. It could be using an online log, or on a forum, or through email, or the phone, or just by telling your co-workers what you did this morning. But be sure that they know your goal, and that you are going to report to them, and be sure that they are expecting it every day.
4. Add motivation as needed. The first three steps might be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, don’t just give up. If you miss two consecutive workouts, you need to look at why, and add a new motivation. Rewards, more public pressure, inspiration, whatever it takes. Read this article for more on this. You can add one additional motivator, and then see if it works. If you miss two more consecutive workouts at any time, add another motivator. And so on, until the exercise habit sticks.

 

 

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Wealthy:  Secured “Fancy Nancy ~ Bonjour Butterfly” for our daughter by employing a politely firm demeanor.  Grace received gifts of books she already had in her library.  When this occurred last year, we brought the books to the local chain bookstore where they were likely purchased, then exchanged for alternate titles.  When approaching the Information desk today at this same location, I was asked if we had a receipt, which we did not, but then informed it would be acceptable to exchange, as long as we were not looking for money back – perfect!  We then spent the next half hour reading books, and whittling down the options, with Grace finally selecting “Fancy Nancy ~ Bonjour Butterfly”, a favorite title in our house.

 

Upon being summoned to our turn at the Checkout counter, the clerk and her cohorts informed us the exchange was not possible without a receipt.  I informed her 2 individuals at the Information desk advised it was acceptable.  The clerk asked their names.  I provided physical and speech details, somehow having failed to ask their names, given they were lovely people, but did not plan on speaking about them by name at any point in my life.  After lots of passive aggressive looks and questions from the clerk, met by polite-but-firm responses on my part, the exchange was made, and we left with “Bonjour Butterfly” firmly in hand.

 

The alternative would have been to keep the books as extra “car copies”, or sell for less than their purchase price, neither an ideal option (and there are no gift giving occasions on the horizon where the recipient is of the appropriate age/gender to fully appreciate either a book about a dog’s Hanukkah or a fancy little girl’s favorite words, much as we enjoy these ourselves). 

 

Wise:  Began perusing old magazines and yanking out photos for my soon-to-be-created Vision Board/Treasure Map.  Unsure why my board has taken so long to create; the concept has always resonated with me.  This excerpt from Oprah.com encapsulates why using a Vision Board can be amazingly powerful and productive LoA tool:  http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/slideshow1_ss_ss_20080206/8).

 

There are a myriad of approaches one can use in creating a Vision Board.  Mine will feature four sections that work best for my “attraction goals”: Relationships & Spirituality, Adventures (to include Travel & Learning), Health & Fitness, and Career & Money. 

 

As a family, over Chinese takeout New Year’s Eve, we created lists of goals for 2009.  Some of my goals that will make their way onto the vision board in pictures and words include:

 

Relationships & Spirituality:  Weekly date nights, one-on-one time with each kiddo, continued and deeper involvement with our church, expanded knowledge of God from a historic and personal perspective…

 

Adventures: Learn to read music & play an instrument, pick up a foreign language (or rescue the 6 yrs of jr. high/high school French from the recesses of my mind), take my Ski Patrol medical skills to the next level, bring the family to London, countless fun adventures in learning with our clan…

 

Health & Fitness: Finish the May 20^th Rock ‘n Race with a respectable time (need to post my goal time), establish daily exercise habit, follow Michael Pollan’s advice: “Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.” …

 

Career & Money: Write daily, publish in NY Times & Oprah, land a book deal, financial peace for our family gained in a way that honors God, our family, and the world, adopt meal planning habit (saving beaucoup bucks)…

 

Now, off to find images for all of these items, as well as a board large enough to hold all of them!

 

Take good care,

Kim